


Hunting Angels

by RainbowSheltie



Category: Ghost Adventures (TV), Ghostbusters - All Media Types, Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Bisexuality, Crossover, Demons, Drama, Fallen Angels, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Traps, Guns, Hauntings, M/M, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-24 01:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16629893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowSheltie/pseuds/RainbowSheltie
Summary: Zac finds love in an unexpected place, with the most unconventional person, and it all started when the Winchester’s handed him a “mission from God”.





	1. Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> **Innocence (Soul) of an Angel** : An angel’s “innocence” is what allows them to ascend/travel to heaven and gives them their holy powers. Without it, they are considered fallen angels and no different from a human. While there are a number of ways for an angel to lose their innocence (including voluntarily), demons are the most common causes, and call this act “defiling”. Sexual activities have no bearing on those processes. Falling in love with a human and choosing to pursue that relationship will automatically cause an angel to lose their innocence.
> 
>  **BETA** : TheSupernova

Zac Bagans hunted ghosts. Generally speaking, he preferred to document the evidence of their existence via cameras, sound recordings and through various electronic equipment. Similar to nature photographers or those who capture moments in time in one digital format or another. Supernatural activity was fascinating and misunderstood. Zac was determined to shine the light of truth. Most supernatural activity was—in a manner of speaking—harmless. Most ghosts didn’t set out to kill or possess someone.

He didn’t particularly consider scratches and slaps from supernatural entities to be an indication of ‘evil’. After all, ‘angry’ and ‘evil’ were two different things. It was an important distinction. Truly evil entities were rare. While ghosts could be evil, most of the time Zac found demons to be the root cause.

However, just because an entity wasn’t ‘evil’ didn’t mean the trouble it caused could be overlooked. Some entities needed to be captured and contained—or at least driven off from their haunts. In this case, Zac had two options and it really depended on if the entity was a ghostly one or a demon.

Not being a priest, the most Zac could do with demons was called in for an exorcism and do the best he could to empower the people in contact with the demon to stand up to it. These were also the most dangerous. Of course, not every demon needed exorcising. Whenever Zac visited abandoned ruins or old buildings, he tended to leave them alone. It was only those demons who would attach themselves to humans that Zac had problems with.

A ghostly attachment, those Zac could deal with. Sometimes, ghosts would cause so many problems that Zac wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye. Ghosts who went to extreme lengths to torment (or bully) certain people meant Zac was forced into a corner.

Zac hated bullies. There was no place for them either living or dead. This meant bringing out the hunting equipment designed specifically to harm, capture and contain the supernatural. Various types of guns with special bullets were designed to stun or otherwise incapacitate spirits long enough for the ghost traps to be set out. They were giant, hand-held electronic boxes imbued with various containment magics combined with advanced scientific equipment design to trap various energies. Zac wasn’t sure why it worked, exactly, but he couldn’t argue with the results.

Now, did Zac have anything that could _fight_ a demon? Other than holy water, exorcisms and various cleansing techniques (often based around different beliefs or religions) there wasn’t anything he could do.

The creation of the Ghost Adventures reality show was meant to document his travels. Ghost hunting was a dangerous occupation, because ghostly attachments could have devastating consequences (physical or mental health, relationships and overall quality of life could all be negatively impacted). Sometimes it took time to lure the ghost out to a position where it could be captured. It wasn’t easy.

Zac preferred to have people live vicariously through the show rather than go out on their own and find themselves in over their heads.

Joining Zac was fellow ghost hunter Nick Groff, and investigator Aaron Goodwin. Aaron, unlike him and Nick, didn’t ‘hunt’ and capture ghosts. He merely documented and recorded any evidence of their existence. Which was just as well, because Zac was with Aaron at the shooting range once, and with Aaron’s natural clumsiness, he preferred Aaron be as far as possible from the guns and capturing equipment. It was important to note that the bullets, while filled with different compounds than is typical, were still deadly to humans.

Zac was also an expert marksman, not that he would boast about it. Nick came in a close second, but considering Aaron’s terrible performance, it didn’t mean that much. However, Zac trusted in Nick’s ability to hit the mark, which was qualification enough when it came to close quarters gun fights. After all, nothing was more unpredictable than an entity who could pass through walls and turn invisible at will.

Now, the last supernatural entity Zac had yet to document, were angels. It was an unspoken rule within the ghost hunting community that angels were to be left alone. As messengers of God, they had special duties to attend to and the last thing anyone wanted was to interfere. Zac respected them and found it better they carry out their responsibilities freely. If word got out certain people were angels masquerading as human… he preferred not the think about it.

Zac had met a few angels over the years, but the one most open to answering his questions was an angel named Castiel. He was assigned to watch over and protect two ghost hunters, Sam and Dean Winchester. Why the two brothers were given an angel in physical form, Zac couldn’t say, but they were well respected within the community. There were rumors, of course, but he didn’t put much stock into rumors.

Zac and Nick had teamed up with the brothers a few times, usually for missions that required multiple evil entities to be cleared out of a single location.

Recently, the brothers had been off on some sort of “mission from God”. It wasn’t entirely clear what, but the brothers said they’d be dropping off the radar for a few weeks and not to worry.

 _“We’ll be back before you know it,”_ Dean said over the phone. _“We might have a job for you but there’s something we have to do first. Wait for my call.”_

It was rare for the Winchesters to ask for help, even more so to hear them dole out missions to other people. There wasn’t much the Winchesters couldn’t handle—after all, they grew up in an old family dedicated to hunting evil entities.

 _“Should I be worried?”_ Zac had asked.

 _“Maybe,”_ Dean replied cryptically. _“For now, just wait.”_

Dean had hung up, leaving Zac with more questions than answers.

It would be almost two months before he received a follow-up call from Dean.

* * *

The time was around 1 am, and Zac was back in Las Vegas, hitting up one of the local bars with Nick. The bartender placed a drink in front of Zac.

“Thanks,” Zac said distractedly. He was gazing at a picture of a beautiful woman laying across an old fashioned “fainting couch”. She held the back of her hand against her forehead. Not the most original of pictures, but the painting was extremely detailed and one of the better ones in this dive.

‘You my friend, are obsessed,” Nick said beside him. Nick was drinking something off the special menu. Otherwise, he hadn’t been paying attention.

Zac was drinking… something. Straight up and hard because his girlfriend had broken up with him earlier that day and he needed a distraction.

Right now, his house was haunted (again) and as per the case, it had ended up scaring off his partner. Of course, they had been dating less than a month, but this entity had attacked her whenever she came over. The most recent incident involved her cross being ripped off her neck and thrown across the room.

That had been the last straw. She couldn’t handle it and finally left. He should have seen it coming, but the entity in his house was splitting his attention. For a ghost hunter, it was embarrassing that this entity was still present but it was _stubborn_. Nothing he did could lure it out of hiding. It would come and go so quickly there wasn’t much Zac could do.

“This is the second time an entity haunting either me or my home has scared off one of my girlfriends,” Zac said.

He looked down at his drink, swirled it gently around in the glass before downing the rest. He slammed the glass back on the bar and slid it away from him. The bartender brought another one.

Nick placed his phone down, and took a sip of his drink before looking over at Zac.

“We’ll get it, man, don’t worry. I just texted Billy. He agreed to set up some equipment tomorrow in your house. If it’s there, he’ll find it and once we know what we’re dealing with, it’s only a matter of time.”

Billy Tolley was their audio/visual tech; a ghost hunter who preferred to investigate rather than hunt and contain. He was often seen behind the scenes watching the various cameras and listening to the audio for any signs of EVPs.   

“Alright,” Zac replied, though he doubted it’d work. Maybe he was being oppressed, or maybe it was the depression from being dumped. Within the last three months, he’d been dumped twice. He always took his relationships seriously. He was in it for the long term and hoped to meet someone else equally as dedicated.

However, these last few years luck hadn’t been with him.

“—and an alien came and began drinking all the beer in your fridge,” Nick finished.

That caught Zac’s attention.

“Wait, what?”

Nick grinned. “Billy will be coming to your place tomorrow morning to set up some equipment. You don’t need to do anything other than let him in.”

“That I can do,” Zac said. He wasn’t interested in the specifics, though he appreciated Nick looking out for him. Then again, Nick also knew the danger of bringing entities ‘home’ with them, after leaving an investigation.

Nick’s marriage had ended in a divorce, through a mixture of poltergeist activity, oppression, and his unstable (sometimes aggressive) behavior.

Zac was wondering if his current relationships might have ended because Zac was unknowingly expressing the same symptoms. It was easy to spot in someone else, but when you are the target… however, Zac was positive that Nick would have told him. It’s happened before.

In the end, it didn’t really matter because his girlfriend had left him and she wasn’t coming back.

Zac knocked back his drink. He instinctively shook his head; either this drink was stronger than the last few, or the alcohol was starting to get to him. Probably the latter, because he had lost count of the number of glasses he’s finished over the last few hours.

The woman in this picture, she wasn’t going anywhere.

“She would stay with me, right?” Zac asked Nick absently.

“Right, I think you’ve had enough,” Nick said, waving off the bartender before he could ask if Zac wanted a refill. "We should get going.”

Nick pulled out his wallet, and handed over some bills for the drinks.

“My treat,” Nick said. “You deserve it.”

“Yeah I do,” Zac said, taking one last look at the woman before following Nick out the door.

He’d just have to pay for Nick’s tab next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being oppressed (an attachment) and possessed (controlled) are two different things.


	2. Bullies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **BETA** : TheSupernova

Zac hated bullies. He hated what they stood for, and how they operated. Preying on those weaker than them, those who couldn’t or were unable to stand up for themselves. Realistically, Zac didn’t need a reason for his beliefs. It was wrong, full stop, and he was fine with people believing in his seemingly virtuous behavior. Thinking his moral standing had always run deep was part of who he was, was not something Zac was going to outwardly deny.

However, his friends knew the truth. Zac never lied to his friends, though he didn’t go out of his way to admit the truth behind his actions. Why he did what he did. In this case, that was confronting and calling out bullies, living or dead, no matter the consequences. The possibility for physical or mental harm was nothing compared to doing what was right.

But Zac hadn’t always been this way.

If people did question his motives, many assumed he may have been bullied at some point in his life. It was a reasonable assumption, if not a stereotypical one. After all, there were many reasons why someone would resort to bullying. Sure, some people did it for the sake of power and the resulting thrill, but many times there was an underlying cause.

That wasn’t an excuse, because the victims of bullying can suffer negative, life altering consequences—many even turn to suicide just to make the pain go away.

However, being a bully didn’t automatically condemn you to a life of bullying. It was possible to move beyond that, to redeem yourself, and that was really the crux of the issue: Redemption.

* * *

Zac hadn’t always believed in the supernatural. Even if the science community had (albeit reluctantly) admitted that the supernatural existed (in various forms) that didn’t mean Zac automatically believed in something so absurd as _ghosts_ or _spirits_. The living dead, so to speak.

Basically, Zac never saw himself being a ghost hunter. He had more realistic goals, like attending college and getting a 9 to 5 job. It may not have been interesting, but for lack of a better plan, it seemed reasonable enough.

That’s not to say his life had been ordinary. There were events Zac would rather forget, and regrets that still haunt him.

* * *

 It was an age-old story. The community Zac grew up in hadn’t been very accepting. On the surface, they were an upstanding lot, but most worried more about appearances than actual morals. A primarily white community, they were afraid of people who were _different_.

Growing up, the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint his parents. There were expectations he had to meet.

It came to a head on a Friday. It was during middle school when one of his fellow classmates, Aiden, had wanted to meet him after school, behind the bleachers. The field was supposed to be empty, but Zac had been weary. The kid wasn’t the most popular, and there were nasty rumors floating around about him. Of course, Zac knew better than to listen to idle gossip and had long since forgotten what most of them were, but the one that stuck with him was that _Aiden was gay_.

This was a time when homophobia was rampant in his neighborhood. Zac had seen Aiden being bullied before, and the last thing he wanted was to be associated with someone like that. What would his girlfriend (at the time) think of him?  He doesn’t remember her name now, but she had been one of the popular kids at school, and social standing mattered.

“Dude, I’m not meeting you anywhere,” Zac hissed quietly at Aiden.

He doubled checked the hallway—by chance, Zac had met Aiden while he was on a bathroom break during class. Aiden had cornered him.

But Aiden had been persistent, almost as if the kid had been psyching himself up to confess something important.   

“At least tell me what it’s about,” Zac said, crossing his arms. He glared at the other man skeptically. Really, there was only one reason why anyone would want to meet behind the bleachers.

Just then, a strong, masculine voice interrupted them.

‘Well, well, well,” the boy said. “Look what we have here.”

Zac turned to find one of the popular kids (who doubled as an occasional bully) slowly clapping his hands. He couldn’t remember the boy’s name.

“Zac, I had no idea you were so… _inclined_.” The boy looked between him and Aiden. “Whatever will your girlfriend think?”

Aiden’s face was turning red from what Zac could only guess was embarrassment.

 Immediately, Zac backed up, throwing his hands in the air.

“This freak wants me to meet him behind the bleachers,” Zac feigned being sick. “I think I want to puke.”

At the time, Zac was one of the school’s elite—a preppy from a well-to-do family. If the bully was going to believe anyone, it would be Zac. This made the boy pause.

“He has been overstepping his boundaries lately,” he told Zac thoughtfully. “Perhaps it’s time we did something about it.”

Aiden looked between them, afraid.

“Maybe we should meet him behind the bleachers after all,” Zac said, with a grin. “Teach him what happens to people who are _different_.”

This earned the approval of the preppy. The boy matched Zac’s grin, and walked up to Aiden. The smaller boy backed up, but he hit the wall.

“Meet us at the bleachers after school,” the bully said, pressing his palm into Aiden’s shoulder. “I suggest you _show up_.”

The “or else” didn’t need to be said.

As the boy walked away, Zac followed him, intentionally bumping into Aiden’s shoulder as he passed.

That day, Zac released his fears on Aiden’s body. He used his fists and his feet, taking turns with the prep kid. This was the first time Zac had bullied anyone, and for a moment, he reveled in the high from the fight. Him and his partner-in-crime were breathing heavily, and the other kid was laughing.

However, Zac looked down and finally noticed the blood from Aiden’s face coating his hands. Zac stepped back, and locked eyes with Aiden. Betrayal and pain shone brightly, alongside the tears streaming down the kid’s face.

What he had done… it wasn’t Zac, but he couldn’t turn back. This could just as easily be him.

Out of fear, he walked away, but he would never forget. He could not take back how he continued to bully Aiden with the rest of the prep kids throughout middle school. Aiden never retaliated, just took it with his head down.

Every time he faced Aiden, it made him sick, both for what Aiden represented and the bullying Zac was willfully participating in. Zac felt trapped by the peer pressure to belong.

It came to a head one day, when Zac and his friends were called into the principal’s office. They were going in one at a time.

“You’re not like them,” Aiden said, making Zac jump in his chair.

He looked over to Aiden, who was towering over him. Before Zac could move, Aiden sat down next to him.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Aiden continued. “You know this is wrong. The others—they enjoy it, but like it or not, I’ve always watched you. You’re not a bully, not like them.”

That was true enough. Seeing as how Zac was alone—aside from Aiden—he wasn’t so quick to denounce Aiden’s presence.

“You know this school has a no bullying policy,” he told Zac.

That was common knowledge, but as per the case in many communities, the well-to-do families who were major investors of the local school programs tended to have their kid’s behavior overlooked.

But Zac’s friends weren’t just targeting Aiden, they were a menace to the school. Zac solely targeted Aiden, though he never once stopped the others from bullying their peers.

“You know I did nothing to stop it,” Zac finally said. “I’m no better than they are. If you don’t stand up for what’s right, you’re part of the problem.”

Aiden laughed, though it wasn’t untoward.

“You’re better than they are. I have a feeling I know what’s been bothering you, but if you’re not ready to face it…” Aiden shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I should hate you, but I don’t. I’m going to try and give you a second chance.”

“What do you—”

Just then, the ringleader of the group left the principal’s office and motioned for Zac to go in. The boy didn’t look at Zac or Aiden. He just shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and slumped off

“I’ll go in and talk to the principal first. Wait here,” Aiden said. Just before Zac entered, hand on the door knob, Aiden spoke up. “Promise me you’ll stay true to your ideals. I know you’ll be happier, in the end.”

With that, Aiden entered the office, shutting the door behind him.

In the end, Zac hadn’t gotten expelled. Apparently his so called ‘friends’ had been in deeper shit than Zac realized. It wasn’t as if he had ever hung out with them outside of school, and the others hadn’t boasted about any ‘accomplishments’ involving him. But he supposed they wouldn’t, if they knew what they were doing was wrong.

Aiden never talked to him again, but whatever he had told the principal, it worked. Zac had gotten a few days suspension and had been grounded by his parents from then until the end of summer vacation, which was over three months away.

Zac had learned a lot in that time, and many unanswered questions remained, like why had Aiden forgiven him? What changed? Why had he stood up for Zac and how did he get the principal to change his mind?

The principal had been surprisingly vague during the meeting, but Zac reiterated his promise to Aiden and left with a metaphorical slap on the wrist.

Zac had become the thing he hated most—seen first hand what bullying can do, and the power of staying silent on the bylines. If he wanted to atone, to get Aiden’s bloody face out of his head, he needed to take a stand.

The experience may not have been completely disastrous, but seeing the pain in people’s eyes as they were being bullied at school, slowly breaking a person down over time, and being an accessory to that, was personally heartbreaking.

More recently, his dreams have centered around his experiences with Aiden. After middle school, he never saw the boy again. Which is just as well, because the thought that a boy was romantically interested in him creeped him out and the more he distanced himself, the better.

Yet the dreams were persistent—almost every night, different memories of his interactions with Aiden haunted him. It put him on edge, especially with other men. More than normal, for him.

He was okay with other people being gay, but actually _participating_ in those acts was sickening. Strong, masculine, sweaty men in close proximity? Not hot. Neither were effeminate men. Both were anti-hot. Women, however, hit the hot spot.

However, fate had a more _interesting_ plan for Zac, one he never saw coming.


	3. The Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **BETA** : TheSupernova

The night sky was overcast, blocking out the stars. The moon peaked eerily through a small break in the clouds.

“Dammit!” Dean yelled, kicking his foot against the invisible forcefield surrounding Poveglia island.

He stumbled backwards on the small boat, and straight into Sam.

“Careful,” Sam said, steadying his brother.

“Fucking demon!” he swore, spitting at the cursed island. “We’re so close.”

Sam turned back to the small cabin up front, picking up a book on the passenger side chair. He scanned the index, quickly flipping to the proper page.

“Here,” Sam said, showing Dean the page.

It was some sort of ritual, but in a foreign language. Dean was glad there were pictures, because he couldn’t read it otherwise.

“What’s it say?”

“There are many types of forcefields, but almost all of them can be counteracted in some way.” Sam pointed out a particular paragraph of text. “Considering we’ve been out here trying to break this shield for the last three hours—with no success—I’m led to believe that this is the one we are dealing with.”

“Right…” Dean said slowly. He raised an eyebrow at his brother.

“Oh! Right. You can’t read this,” Sam said absently.

His brother had recently begun learning different languages, since a number of books they came across in their research into the paranormal ended up needing to be translated.

“So, this particular forcefield only allows certain people to pass through. The basis of this spell is created using something from the person it is created for,” Sam said. “We need to find out what this demon wants.”

Dean huffed. “It _has_ what it wants. The angel.”

“Well…” Sam closed the book, and looked out over the island. “Isn’t this the same place Zac was possessed by a demon?”

A few years ago, Zac Bagans had traveled here to investigate the hauntings for his paranormal reality show, Ghost Adventures. Something had possessed him and although Zac had been able to shake it off, it seemed whatever it was had been tied to a certain building so when Zac left, the thing had been unable to follow.

“You think it wants Zac?” Dean asked. “To what, finish what it started?”

Sam nodded. “It’s possible. This is an island of death. This demon probably feeds off of it. Zac is… different. We know he’s sensitive to the paranormal. Do you remember why we’re here?”

“Ugh. I don’t like this,” Dean said. “Zac isn’t going to like this.”

“We don’t have a choice. Castiel said the angel was here. We can’t get in and right now, Zac is our best bet. We need to get that angel out of there before it’s too late.”

“It’s already too late,” came a familiar voice.

Both brothers almost jumped out of their skin, and Dean just barely stopped himself from reaching for the gun tucked in the back of his waistband.

“Shit Cas, stop popping in like that,” Dean said, catching his breath. “I could have shot you.”

Cas shrugged. “Sorry.”

Not that it would have harmed Castiel, though it might have been somewhat painful for a few minutes before the gunshot healed.

“What were you saying about the angel?” Sam asked, bringing the conversation back to the main point.

Castiel walked over and placed his hand on the forcefield. A light shone from his hand, but nothing happened. The angel stepped back.

“I just felt it,” Cas said. “The demon successfully stripped Hayden of his innocence. He’s no longer an angel.”

Dean swore, shooting the forcefield with his gun until the bullets were spent. The empty gun clicked loudly in the otherwise still night.

“Dean…” Sam said, placing a hand on top of the gun, “stop.”

“Fuck!” he swore again.

“I know.”

Eventually, Dean tucked his gun away and walked towards the driver’s seat. He started up the boat.

“We’ve got work to do,” he said, “so buckle up.”

Sam and Cas barely had time to find their seats before Dean had the boat powered on at full speed, back towards the harbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never thought the Supernatural gang would get their own chapter, but here it is. It just goes to prove that you never quite know what's going to happen until start writing. 
> 
> Also, I was watching Supernaturals season 2 episode 8 "Hollywood Babylon" while writing this chapter. Best. Episode. Ever. xD


End file.
